AVX2080

[scottyc]

looking at making the switch, not having a Vexus dealer close and not able to take one out I'm looking for some input on the AVX vs a glass boat on the great lakes. My primary body of water will be Erie which can get nasty on the best days. looking for some guys who have had them out on the big water and how they handle ride and take the waves. Not worried about speed just the ability to handle 3 footers or lake chop ride and storage, will they handle an additional battery and a 36V trolling motor. i did not see the factory option to add the 3rd battery or this motor. I'm just outside Buffalo and willing to drive to check one out any pro's and con's greatly appreciated. thanks

[City17Banner]

I have fond memories of when I was a much younger man, in the early 90's, with the stamina to drive 11-hours straight through from MN to Sandusky, OH and fishing the western basin of Lake Erie and you are absolutely correct that a light wind can become a windstorm in less than an hour and a light ripple can become 3-footers in a heartbeat. These days, I am fortune enough to be less than an hour away from Chequamegon Bay and get to fish it twice a week and while it doesn't get as rough as the western basin of Lake Erie, there's still plenty of 2-3ft waves on Chequamegon Bay in the afternoons when it is windy out, and I can say that my AVX 1980 has been handling the waves well this season.

The AVX series is not the same old mod-v hull style that has existed for decades and is much more seaworthy than any of the three previous aluminum bass boats (two Bass Trackers and a Ranger RT188) I have previously owned and would never have attempted to run those boats on Chequamegon Bay in anything more than a light wind. The challenge I have with my Vexus compared to my Ranger 522 DVX is that the big boat simply has more mass and weight to handle the swells and wind better while fishing and running than the much lighter AVX hull does day in and day out. Fortunately, I can simply drive to a closer boat launch if I want to fish a given area of Chequamegon Bay and my longest run through heavy waves (2ft +) so far this season is less than 5 miles so while the AVX rides rougher than the Ranger, it is certainly capable of running big water if you are careful and judicious in your driving and are not in a hurry.

If you lived closer to me, I'd be glad to take you out and let you run the boat in rough water but these days, my limit is about 3-hours of towing my boat trailer and I have to take a long break from towing so it's not in the cards anymore for me going on long fishing trips. However, there are quite a few Vexus AVX owners who live in Indiano and Ohio so perhaps one of them might be able to give you a ride in their boats to give you an idea of how well these boats run in rough water conditions so you can see for yourself if this is the correct course of action for fishing on the east side of Lake Erie.

[scottyc]

Thanks, that was what I was looking for in an answer, my 929 is a floating beast on the big pond. But as I age, I find myself as you are fishing closer and shorter runs. I'm just looking for a stable platform that's fishable and can handle the bigger water. I was looking at the Avid, but the Vexus stands out.

[City17Banner]

The Vexus has exceeded my expectations for fishability and has performed great overall and I have found that it is more than able to fish and handle big water and the unexpected weather changes that sometimes come up when fishing on these large bodies of water, it simply doesn't have the sheer mass and weight of a big fiberglass bass boat to deal with a 20mph+ head wind and the waves associated with those conditions as well as the bigger boat.

The positive attributes of the lighter aluminum bass boat are that I can fish some of the tributary rivers on the east side of Chequamegon Bay without any concerns about hitting river obstructions and having to deal with any gel coat damage and it also tows easier and is better on gas mileage than the bigger boat too. I consistently get 12.6-13.6mpg when towing my Vexus with my 2021 Toyota Tundra with the last generation V8 while towing at reasonable speeds, while I get about 10.5-11.0mpg when towing the Ranger so it's nice saving a little bit of money at the gas pump with these current sky-high gas prices.

[Siuebass0]

I can't speak to lake Erie but I've had my on Lake of the Ozarks quite a bit. I, for one, think it rides as close to a glass boat as possible, without being a glass boat. It has to be driven differently than a glass boat in big waves. There's no V to cut waves so I actually keep my trim a little higher and hit them a little farther back. My dad has a 520c and constantly tells me that he thinks my boat rides better than his and he lives on the Ozarks. It's definitely a different boat to drive than a glass rig, not necessarily in a bad way either. It's more responsive in big waves than a glass boat and more nimble, easier to control.

[sclark]

Scott --

Nearest Vexus Dealer :

https://www.limelakemarinerv.com/